Washington, August 26 (QNA) - Meta agreed today to pay up to $17 billion and strengthen safety measures for children using Facebook and Instagram to settle lawsuits alleging that the company employed addictive design features, routinely collected children's data without parental consent, and caused serious harm to teenagers' mental health. 
The settlement is one of the largest consumer-protection agreements in US history outside the major tobacco settlements of the 1990s. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said the agreement would put an end to harmful practices and provide meaningful protections for children from online harms. 
Among the measures Meta plans to introduce are disabling notifications during school hours, stronger age-assurance measures, greater parental controls, tighter content restrictions, and measures to curb bullying and harmful content related to self-harm and eating disorders. The agreement also includes strict daily usage limits and nighttime restrictions for children using Facebook and Instagram. Meta's own announcement specifies a two-hour daily limit, default nighttime restrictions, no notifications during school hours and additional parental supervision controls. 
The federal litigation followed an investigation involving attorneys general from states including California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont. Prosecutors alleged that Meta was aware of the potential harm Instagram could cause teenagers, particularly girls, including effects on their mental and physical health. 
For its part, Meta said the agreement builds on its longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teenagers. The company said ensuring that teens have a safe and beneficial experience on its platforms remains a top priority and that its cooperation with state attorneys general was intended to establish a new industry standard. Meta also called on other major platforms to adopt comparable safeguards. (QNA)